Important note: Make sure you are using the latest Precord. Some earlier versions suffered from arecord having a flaw in its VU meter code as decribed in the link below (the arecord VU code used to overwrite system file /dev/null which could cause many system-related problems; e.g. the old bug caused wireless connectivity not to work according to one report). Versions of Precord and pAVrecord published since Jan 2014 do not suffer from that arecord bug.

# (YMD)2014/08/03: changed hijack ext to .hijack; Removed old 'slave' addon code. Hijack addon modules allow developer to add to or change code functionality/codec commands etc without needing to edit the main program script. Details in second post of pavrecord thread, which also provides the same addon ability.

Fixed record Duration not working. Modified such that most functionality no longer requires ffmpeg (which was previously used in playback code). Can now also control playback (but not record) of video files too if mplayer on system.

One version now only. Tested on Slacko 6 beta, Precise 5.7.1 and DebianDog.

Major config GUI modification.
Can use avconv if available.
Selects appropriate AAC encoder.
As per pAVrecord, Precord now includes hijack expansion capability to allow modular plugin addition of new main code, new functions, new gui panels and new gui general config buttons:

Notes for Precord mp3, wav, ogg, acc(faac), and flac recorder and player with pause controls and auto config saving:

If precord ever fails to start, its config file is probably corrupted so simply delete your old /root/.precord config directory and precord will automatically rebuild it the next time it is re-started. Its config file is not known to become corrupted in normal use though.

Uses ffmpeg for ogg recording if oggenc is not available.

Precord has the advantage over, for example, mhWaveEdit, in that it records straight to mp3, wav or ogg, so doesn't need to use the hard disc for temporary storage of huge intermediate files.

It depends on arecord and lame for recording, and ffmpeg and aplay for playback; these are all standard core apps in Puppy

For vorbis ogg Precord uses oggenc for recording if it is available, otherwise it uses ffmpeg.

Precord has an inbuilt interface to Pschedule, so you can also use it for very versatile timed-recording (over, days, months, and years...). It can also record any sound coming through your soundcard (e.g. radio streams). Indeed, 01micko's pupradio/tv program automaticaly includes a button to call up Precord once Precord is installed. You just need to select appropriate Mixer input channel instead of Mic input using retrovol or alsamixer.

The provided dotpet installs an entry/icon for the program in JWM Start menu -> Multimedia -> Precord mp3,wav,ogg recorder/player

As well as having a GUI interface, Precord can also be used from the commandline. It reads commandline args of the form:

If the config file for Precord (/root/.precordrc) gets corrupted somehow, Precord won't be able to start. EDIT: FIXED in version 1.0.1 upwards: the program now autocleans its config file on the next run if it found an error (i.e. if it doesn't start the first time because of a corrupted config file, it will start fine next time your try running it).
-------------------------

If using a microphone and it's not working, you can open up alsamixer from the Config GUI of precord by clicking on the MIX button. To adjust the alsamixer controls to get your sound basically going:

Move to the different volume controls (Master, Master M, and PCM) using the left/right cursor keys and use the up/down cursor keys turn up these volume controls to maximum.

Use "Mic Sel" to select the Microphone you are using (Mic1 internal; Mic2 external).

(I suggest NOT USING the control marked simply "Mic"; on my system at least, that one just messes things up with lots of howling feedback...)

You should also try moving to the control marked Capture, press space bar to select, and turn it right up using the cursor up key.

Occasionally, alsa seems to get screwed up and I've had to reboot after playing with alsamixer controls (nothing to do with precord though, which works fine - just alsa generally), but usually things go fine (I've never taken time to discover the combination of settings that have worked best I'm afraid).

What I've found isn't good on my system is to use the control marked simply "Mic" whilst recording: that just creates horrible feedback whining noise in the background. i.e. I suggest therefore that you first leave that particular control de-activated; key M activates it (a toggle ON/OFF effect), so don't do that, or turn up its capture volume either...

I played around with Precord tonight for a bit. It's easy to use and seems well-behaved. That is, it did what I expected and didn't do anything I didn't expect. I tried running

Code:

arecord -V mono

in rxvt for a VU meter (see here for details) while Precord was running. Arecord has the unfortunate habit of beeping the computer's beeper when the input level clips, and the beeps are picked up by the microphone. After a while, arecord seemed to cause Precord to not record at all. Ah, well, it's still useful for setting levels before you record.

fixes error with pause function and auto cleans its config file (if it ever doesn't start, just try running it again and it should have fixed its config file automatically back to the default).

@Flash:

I tried,

arecord -V mono

My 1024x768 screen does not allow the rxvt console to be stretched out wide enough, though I could see the percentage figures which also indicated the recording levels. I could add a button to the Config menu of precord I suppose to run arecord -V mono in its own rxvt, if you like.
Pity I don't know how to make the rxvt fonts tiny enough that it wouldn't need stretched so much - I know how to enlarge the fonts, but haven't tried making them tiny..._________________Non enim propter gloriam, diuicias aut honores pugnamus set propter libertatem solummodo quam Nemo bonus nisi simul cum vita amittit.

Note that you cannot record (as far as I am aware) whilst the VU meter is running (but you can playback!...).
You can also start up the alsamixer at the same time (MIX button) and, if you wish, activate the single bar MIN GUI of Precord (or switch back and forth between single bar GUI and config GUI, whilst one or both of these are running in their rxvt windows._________________Non enim propter gloriam, diuicias aut honores pugnamus set propter libertatem solummodo quam Nemo bonus nisi simul cum vita amittit.

Thanks for this cool little app. It also does a decent job of recording stdin from whatever is going through the sound card.

I just wrote a little radio streaming app that includes a recording feature and I was having all sorts of problems trying to get it right but now I don't have to at all. My app can call 'precord' and the user can set up alsamixer (setting up alsamixer is the key) and save in whatever quality they want. Neat. Of course this makes recording optional in my radio app but that's fine. I will put a link in my app to this thread.

# Version 1.0.3
# Added Record and Play file entry boxes, and date-stamped file handling.

Now you can easily play back one file, whilst recording another (headphones are best when doing that...).

Note that though precord is designed to record mp3 files, it will play back many formats.

I only have a very slow dialup connection, so haven't tried this, but I imagine precord could probably play back (some/a few) mp3 streams as well (try entering a URL of such a stream as the file to play - let me know if it works...).

EDIT: Oh well, I had no success with streaming mp3 playing in precord, but 01micko's wee app works well for that (looking forward to him creating a universal version for different players etc.

The date stamp record is pretty handy for making lots of quick recordings. The playback window makes a best effort to track the date-stamped file being recorded, but it occasionally gets fooled (that is inevitable, the date stamp is at second resolution...) - not that that matters - the recording goes fine.

which includes the option to Record the played audio streams via Precord. I tested pupRadio in conjunction with my newly uploaded Precord version 1.0.3.

The combination works really well (if you are lucky! Alsa seems to be a temperamental beast...) You can use the VU meter of Precord when setting up Alsa mixer and pupRadio volume 'PRIOR' to recording - but, alas, you the VU meter can't be allowed to run whilst recording. I haven't been successful (as yet) getting any VU meter to work whilst recording - maybe one day! :-)

As 01micko says, the trick is to set up alsamixer correctly. You can do that from within Precord (in its config GUI press the MIX button). I found that selecting Capture device "Mix" (instead of "Mic") worked.

EDIT: On my admittedly slow system the recording of pupRadio seemed to loose lots of chunks of sound though - but its hard to tell when the dialup connection continually results in pauses due to buffering needs. RE-EDIT...! Worked great when I either reduced the bit rate with cbr, but best on my system was to use Variable Bit Rate mode, vbr (I used stereo and 320k vbr in my test, with great results, though I'm sure lower bit rate vbr would be fine)

Be careful not to leave Mic as the Capture device or you may think things are working when all you are then doing is recording your speaker output through your microphone!!! Not so good! :-)

But using "Mix" (rather than "Mic") for alsamixer Capture seemed to be the way to do it as far as I can see).

I don't know if this is a bug or just a peculiarity of my system:
When I click to expand the "Config" menu, Precord 1.0.5 disappears. I restart it from the Multimedia menu, click "Config" again, and it works like it's supposed to. (This also happened in 1.0.4 but I forgot to mention it. )

I tried vbr. It works fine. I didn't do a real comparison yet (recording the same audio track with both vbr and cbr) but vbr's file size for 30 seconds of me talking seemed about the same as with cbr. Is that what you found?_________________Puppy Help 101 - an interactive tutorial for Lupu 5.25

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